Helghan
Helghan is one of the two planets of Alpha Centauri, and is home to the Helghast. The events of Killzone 2 take place here. The Helghast homeworld is a hostile, cruel world dominated by ferocious storms and electrifying skylines. Over the years, the Helghast have proudly embraced their formidable planet and adapted to the dangerously toxic environment. History Helghan Corporation The Helghan Corporation's colonization fleet first reached Helghan when they entered Alpha Centauri in 2128, and named it after their company. The planet was uninhabitable, so the Helghan Corporation chose to deploy a prefabricated space station in its orbit to manage automated facilities on the surface. Orbital facilities began to grow around Helghan in the following years, and the Helghan Corporation made good profits from the production of energy on Helghan, which was sold to ships which passed through the system. Shipbuilding also becomes an industry of Helghan, and becomes the largest of its kind outside of Earth. First Extrasolar War On 2200, the First Extrasolar War breaks out in Alpha Centauri between the Helghan Administration and the United Colonial Nations. The Helghan fleet meets the UCA Navy over Helghan, but are no match for the superior UCA Navy ships. During the battle many of the orbital facilities surrounding Helghan were destroyed, including the main hub which was home to the shipbuilding and management of the Helghan industries. Following the war, the Helghan Administration is dissolved and the system is put under direct ISA administration. The planet of Helghan becomes the destination of many Helghan loyalists who leave Vekta to escape ISA occupation beginning in 2204 and ending by 2210. Helghan Resurgent Settlements are set up on Helghan's surface during 2215-2220, and by 2305 the settlers manage to eke out a brutal living on the planet. Due to the environment of the planet, the bodies of the inhabitants eventually adapt to the harsh conditions, becoming the now-mutated Helghast. However, due to ongoing sanctions placed on the planet by the UCN and enforced by the ISA, Helghan went through an economic depression. This made its inhabitants more bitter towards the ISA and their collaborators, and allowed for Scolar Visari's rise to power in 2347. Visari attempts to spread Helghan's power and starts the Second Extrasolar War in 2357 by invading nearby Vekta. Following the failure of the invasion, the ISA invades Helghan in 2359. Casualties are high on both sides, Visari is killed, and most of Pyrrhus is destroyed by a nuclear device that was detonated by the Helghast. As of now, the war on Helghan is ongoing. Geography, economy, and cities Helghan is a hellish world, only recently made remotely habitable. Most of the planet is covered by rocky terrain and dominating canyons. Helghan is rich in natural resources and minerals, mainly petrusite. Most settlements are centered around mining operations, and the largest city was Pyrrhus, though it had more resemblance to a very large slum as opposed to a sprawling city. During Visari's reign, most of the economy was centered into fueling and building up the military, leaving little resources for the improvement of the general population's well-being. Government Before Scolar Visari's rise to power, Helghan was ruled by the remains of the Helghan Administration which had once ruled over Alpha Centauri before the First Extrasolar War. Visari enters into the government after a popular coup in 2347, and crowns himself as Autarch. With unlimited power, he reshapes the Helghan government into the Helghan Empire, a militaristic totalitarian regime along fascist lines. Fauna and Flora Although a harsh planet, Helghan does have several basic forms of wildlife as befits a natural ecosystem. Insects seem to be the primary form of indigenous life, though most seem to be somewhat larger than their average Terran counterparts. Included are many harmless electric beetles that seem to fill the lower half of a natural food chain. Likewise, there are also aggressive predators in the form of the common Petrusite Spider, normally found in the mining areas & wastelands of Helghan; based on how it attacks, it seems to hunt prey by stunning them with an electric shock/bite, turning the stunned prey into liquid with it's venom, and then ingesting the liquid, as any standard spider would. Though it does not actively hunt the player, a Petrusite Spider will attack if the player if he wanders too close, or if the player opens fire on the Petrusite Spider first. 'See Also ' *Helghast *Second Extrasolar War *Scolar Visari *Petrusite